Please Help Me; So Much Pain; 25M

[Mick94]

Exactly 3 Months ago I was as active and healthy as could be, thought I was untouchable. Then one Saturday morning I’ve gone to the toilet and seen what I feel is a substantial amount of blood in the toilet and drips down the side of the bowl, no pain except for a tiny lower back tingling, I went a&e and was diagnosed with haemorrhoids and thought nothing of it.

Fast forward a week and I start getting pains up the sides of my back and stomach and my thighs were on fire, was then diagnosed with a UTI that was said to have gone up to my kidneys and given antibiotics. Finally thought we had found out the cause.

Nope, the pain started getting significantly worse, at this point, a dull ache in my stomach and back, I was given painkillers and suppositories but the suppositories caused me to bleed again (this is only the second time I’ve bled since the first time) and caused a crazy amount of pain in my stomach ( the lining from belly button to rib cage)

Fast forward to now and everything seems to be progressing, a constant dull ache and bloating in stomach that may flare into bad terrible pain, back pain up the sides, lower and in bewteeen shoulder blades which can be an ache or a burning sensation on my back, and the most worrisome now is constant aching underneath my armpits mostly my left.

Throughout this whole ordeal I have had and MRI of the spine, a ct scan of the abdomen, an x ray of the chest, a testicular exam and multiple stool tests all of which have come up negative, but the pain is progressing and this point I have given up because all my gp is doing is prescribing me tramadol and amitriptyline while I wait for a referral which is going to take forever as my tests have come up negative,

Also last thing to note while I am writing this my anus has a stabbing feeling when I clench and every stool i have now starts with pebbles and ends with mush just dropping out after with white bits in and what looks like bubbles in it. I have only pooed blood visible twice the first time and after a suppository.

Can anyone help because doctors are backing away because everything shows fine but I know deep down something is wrong. Thank you x

[Respo]

Have you tried probiotics ,they put good bacteria back in your colon .I have diverticular problems and a hiatus hernia to boot but identify with some of your symptoms .if blood is bright red they will tell you it is piles .not uncommon .you can have external and internal piles and if you have what is called explosive diaroeh you can bleed .you need camera exams and a good gastroenteroligist

.I have had similar but you have to adapt to your personal triggers and avoid them if you can .I have done probiotics found they help and just done the online food intolerance test ,but have good days and bad days .also stress dont help your guts so carry on and dont worry about things till you know .I refused painkillers etc.paracetamol and hot water bottle only .remember if you have antibiotics it kills off your good gut bacteria hence you may need probiotics after them good luck

[xjrs]

If you are having haemorrhoids and pebble type stools it is likely you are suffering from constipation. Have a look at the Bristol stool chart here:

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/cms...

If your stools are always of Type 1 or 2, you are constipated.

If so, did you have this constipation before you started amitriptyline? I ask this since amitriptyline can cause constipation. You can get loose stools after eliminating hard stools due to 'overflow diarrhea' i.e. your stools are so hard that liquid food gets backed up behind them and don't get a chance to solidify.

If you were constipated before amitriptyline, what is your diet like? Are you consuming enough fibre?

You can try ground flaxseed on your breakfast, starting at 1 teaspoon and increasing at 1 teaspoon every 2-3 days - you'll need to consume extra water with it.

I have IBS-C and have been prescribed Linaclotide for it and I am also taking Alflorex probiotic which has been scientifically studied for IBS. These in combination have reduced the pain I am in considerably and I have been able to tolerate more foods so that I am able to consume the extra fibre I need to have a BM including oatbran, wheat bran (if tolerated), 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed, 9 prunes, 2 tablespoon chia seeds and shredded wheat (or GF version: Nutribrex) for breakfast, plus quinoa, wholewheat bread and whole grain pastas at other meals. These fruits are particularly high fibre and can help with BMs: hard pears, dried apricots, raspberries, oranges (contain a natural laxative) & 2 kiwi. I find that I need to have 1 orange a day and then another high fibre fruit later in the day to help with BMs. In some people the Linaclotide also helps a lot with BMs which is its primary purpose.

There is some good advice about constipation here:

theibsnetwork.org/constipat...

theibsnetwork.org/constipat...

I am currently experimenting with soaking grains, to reduce phytic acid content which can block the absorption of some minerals. It also makes them more digestible.

I also take 30 drops of ginger extract before bedtime to aid motility. You may need to work up the dose to say 7 drop increments each night.

Some people say that enteric coated peppermint can help with pain.

I have been giving Optifibre a go, which has been helping but I need to be careful with the amount since it gives me gas.

Exercise can help with BMs. The government recommends 150 mins of moderate exercise (e.g. walking as if you are late for an appointment) or 75 of intense exercise (e.g. jogging) per week. I also have a bit of a walk around straight after breakfast to get things moving.

You need to ensure that you are drinking enough fluids (2 litres of fluid per day).

If you really get stuck you can try 800mg+ of Magnesium Oxide. I used to take these for a regular bowel movement when having to be low fibre:

myvitamins.com/vitamins/mag...

I used to start around 800mg at bed time on an empty stomach, then increment by 100mg (1 pill) each night until I got a response the next morning or the morning after. Most of it goes straight to your bowels where it draws in water to bulk out stools. This worked well when I was low fibre, but when I started to introduce fibre it became more unpredictable (either not working well enough or too well), so I had to give it up.

Since you are also suffering from pain, you may be suffering from visceral hypersensitivity (functional abdominal pain) - there is info about it here:

iffgd.org/lower-gi-disorder...

It is where the brain interprets the normal activity of the bowel as pain - this is due to a wearing down of neurons in pain control centres of the brain which can be caused by PTSD, neglect or abuse in childhood, extreme stressful events etc. The first line treatment is nerve pain agents such as low dose amitriptyline (which you have been prescribed). There is a theory that being on something like amitriptyline for 6-12 months can help the pain control centre neurons to regenerate. Unfortunately I couldn't tolerate these. Linaclotide (for IBS-C only) & Alflorex have helped me with this intestinal pain.